#cosiness is very important indeed!!!

[what-if-queen-camilla]

Like grandfather, like grandson - Chapter 4 - Sandringham House

Sandringham House, Norfolk, Monday, 11th December 1972

Camilla was still in a bit of a shock, firstly about Charles’ somehow not-so unexpected proposal about two weeks ago, and secondly, actually just recently, about his grandmother’s invitation to Sandringham House, which she, even if she had wanted to, hardly could have turned down. It was the week of both, the King’s accession day and his birthday, which was going to end with the third Sunday of Advent, and moreover the last day before Charles would leave for the Navy. It was not the first time she was invited to stay with the Royal Family, God knew how often she, her parents and siblings had joined them for hunting weekends at Balmoral back when they had all been children - but Sandringham House was something different, and this time, she was not just the daughter of a much appreciated World-War-II veteran and granddaughter of darling Mrs Greville's ever so adored goddaughter, but the more or less official girlfriend of Prince Charles of Edinburgh!

“It’s a very small group, darling, and it will be a cosy atmosphere!”, he had promised her when he had brought her his grandmother’s invitation. “It’ll be only my grandparents, Aunt Margo, Uncle Peter, the cousins and us!”, he had explained and at least the absence of his parents had somehow calmed her down a bit, yet, it was still frightening enough. A driver had picked her up early on this Monday morning to ensure she'd arrive in time for luncheon. There'd be a small reception to mark the 35th anniversary of His Majesty's accession later in the afternoon, certainly an especially bittersweet one this year, Camilla thought, considering the Duke of Windsor's death last May. Despite everything, The King had insisted that his brother should have a State Funeral in everything but name, and Charles, alongside his mother's cousins the Duke of Kent, Prince William of Gloucester (who had so tragically died only a couple of weeks later which had been a huge heartbreak for the whole family), and his own eldest cousin George, Viscount Linley, first born son of Princess Margaret and her husband Captain Peter Townsend, the Earl and Countess of Snowdon, had stood vigil during the lying-in-state of the former monarch. It had caused some controversy, but also underlined once more just how important family and forgiveness was to King George VI, and as far as Camilla was concerned, she had been deeply impressed and touched by his generous gesture, as was her entire family and most people she knew. For the occasion, Camilla had got herself a simple, but elegant, knee-length black silk and lace dress of which she hoped that it wouldn't draw the attention away from Charles’ grandmother. She very much preferred to stay as invisible as possible and, of course, would never want to “outshine” The Queen! Though it was probably impossible to outshine Her Majesty with her fancy style anyway, but still.

“Here we are, Ma'am, Sandringham House.”, the driver announced and Camilla's heart stopped for a moment as she, indeed, caught sight of the famous, red bricked, Jacobethan styled country house right next to her out of the car window, and much to her relief, her Prince right in front of the building, happily smiling and waving at her. “Darling!”, he greeted her affectionately, as soon as she got out of the window, tenderly kissing both her cheeks. “I'm so glad you're here, I've missed you terribly! Have you had a comfortable journey?” “Yes, darling, everything went well.”, she confirmed, with a grateful nod towards the driver, who was meanwhile unloading her luggage, that would later be carried into the house by another servant. “Come on, my love, let's go inside.”, Charles said, tenderly wrapped her arm around her and guided her through the main entrance. “Where are the others?”, Camilla asked, a bit frightened. So far, nobody was in sight, but she didn't want to experience any kind of surprises, so wanted to be sure. “Grandpa is working in his office, Granny and Aunt Margo have gone on a ride, Uncle Peter and the boys have gone fishing and Sarah���” “... has been waiting for you all morning!!!”, the Prince's seven-year-old cousin, who had suddenly appeared as if by magic, excitedly declared and almost jumped onto Camilla’s arms. “Hello young lady!”, Camilla greeted her affectionately and Sarah's eyes widened in excitement. They had met a few short times before and somehow, Sarah was almost as much in love with her cousin's girlfriend as she himself. “Charles says you're drawing, is that true?”, the little girl asked and Camilla nodded. “I do, but I'm not very good…” “That's not true!”, Charles immediately protested. “You're absolutely brilliant, darling!” “And you like horses, right?”, Sarah happily babbled away. “Can I show you that stables later?” “For the moment, sweetheart, please hold your horses and let Camilla arrive first!”, Charles giggled, but Camilla gave him an approving glance, confirming that she didn't mind the little girl's behaviour at all. She had two younger siblings herself and she loved children, so everything was fine. “Well, in that case, Sarah, you might like to show Camilla her room?”, he asked and Sarah nodded excitingly. “I helped Mary preparing it yesterday!”, she explained and took Camilla's hand. “It's next to mine, we girls have an entire corridor of our own!” Camilla looked at Charles and he nodded. Of course - only married couples were allowed to share a room in this circle… Trying to conceal her slight disappointment, Camilla followed Sarah up the stairs and to the room that was going to be hers for the rest of the week. “I'll come and pick you up for lunch in about half an hour!”, he promised and blew a kiss, before the ladies rushed around the corner and were out of sight.

[natlacentral]

Dallas Liu for Boys By Girls. More photos and interview behind the cut.

Photography ELIZABETH WEINBERG Fashion LUCA KINGSTON Interview CAT EVANS Grooming TAMMY YI for EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS using T3 MICRO Production TREVOR PERSON

The sky trickling in thick clouds yawns open, summoning rays of light to stream down into outstretched hands. Warm, welcoming. Palms rub together and friction sparks, filtering dark shadows into shimmering strands of energy. A glint of light swells into fiery radiance, and Dallas Liu is in the centre of it all, as both himself and as Zuko fromAvatar: The Last Airbender. He is setting his path aflame as he grows resilient and intrepid, and through it all, countering the dimmer parts of life with the brightest fire.

Filled with a charismatic and personable energy, Dallas leads each conversation with a contagious spark that you just can’t help but match. It could be the fact that Dallas and I have both been west coasters since adolescence, but there is a chilled, laid-back state right off the bat as he and I sit to chat. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Dallas started acting at a young age, and there is a fierce ambition and drive in him that is truly electrifying to encounter as his career begins to ignite. Having infinite support from his loved ones, Dallas has a steady head on his shoulders and a big heart that always makes space for others, but never forgets to leave room for himself as well.

Dallas instantly supplies the energy of a born leader, but he confesses his leadership skills have grown substantially over time, with the most growth happening during the filming of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Even though we’ve just met, a sense of pride for Dallas floods my system as he speaks about his role as Zuko, especially when his eyes light up as he admits Zuko was his favourite character growing up. What a childhood dream, indeed, for him to play the young firebender in the new live-action series! There is a cadence of sincerity and intellect from Dallas as he speaks of the close knit relationships created with the other cast members during filming. We talk about how Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who plays Uncle Iroh in the series, took Dallas under his wing and allowed space for him to gain new skills and knowledge, both mentally and physically. Dallas speaks as though he has lived many different lives, leaping from one world to the other and always leading with intention and consideration.

Through sips of tea and banters about the weather, Dallas and I settle into a space that is cosy and comfortable as we set ablaze conversations around managing big transitions, representation in Hollywood, and the importance of forgiveness. Through it all, Dallas carries the duality of calm waters and kindled fire all at once - a gentle, warming spirit through and through. He is striking the match, igniting his own fire, and making home in an inferno of self-assurance and purpose.

Avatar: The Last Airbender releases February 22, 2024 on Netflix.

Dallas, hello! Looks like you might be in some chilly weather with that jacket on.  [laughs] Yeah, I’m in L.A…It’s in the sixties…really not that cold, but it is for here!

Yeah, Los Angeles must be getting a slight cold front like a lot of other places in the states have! Right! For an L.A native like myself, this is when we wear our trench coats and what not. Everyone's standing outside with their scarves and coffees and hot lattes!

Well, it’s so great to get to chat with you! How has your day been today? Good, thank you! Just hanging out, and the trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender dropped today, which is super sick. I'm feeling very excited about that! I’ve been calling everyone, seeing how they're feeling. I was just happy to finally have something out after so long. I think our teaser was released last year in November, so it's been a while, and now the show's coming out in a month exactly, so I'm just happy to finally be sharing it!

Yes! And the trailer is so great, I’m really excited. I grew up watching the animated series - I’m thrilled for the live action and to watch it now as an adult! Yeah, I think especially with the way the show is doing it where we're spreading it out, with the first season being the entirety of book one, will be really awesome! There’s just too much that goes on in that first season to really compact it into a three hour film.

For sure, I agree! Well, we’ll dig deeper into the show of course, but let me give you a warm welcome back to Boys By Girls! This is your second time sitting down with us for a conversation. Your first interview was in September 2021. How does it feel to think about the time that has passed since then? I can’t believe that much time has passed already. It’s so cool…and also frightening! It all feels like a movie in itself. It’s been a whole entire journey since the last time I talked with Boys by Girls. I had only just booked Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I hadn't even really started prepping for it at that point, because they hadn't sent us the script or anything like that. Now I'm getting to talk to you guys again and the show is coming out soon! I feel like not only have I been able to grow as an actor, but as a person as well. And I'm just excited to talk to you guys again!

We’re very excited to have you! And we’ve just transitioned into a new year. What would you say the biggest transition was that you went through in 2023?  Well, this is kind of a very basic answer, but I think a lot of people in my generation are learning to not obsess over things out of our control. As long as you've done your part or done your best in that moment, the moment has passed now. So, you know, it’s about being able to accept that. What you've done is done. It's time to move on. All you can do is be proud that the moment existed and you were able to participate in it.

How do you do with transitions and change in general? Is there anything that helps with change and staying grounded?  I am definitely someone that finds change challenging, but it's something that I enjoy as well. It means that something is happening in your life. It's proof that you are really here and living through it all. This kind of goes back to my last interview with Boys By Girls, but I can't stress enough how much my family and friends mean to me through all of this change. My family and I are so close. There's no way that they'd ever let me switch up on them or turn out to be this crazy person. And with my friends, during transitions, I think the ones who can stay will stay. The ones who can't, or choose to leave, were friends with me for the wrong reasons.

For sure. Our loved ones definitely keep us in check during transitions and change, as well.  Yeah, I feel that! As you get older those numbers of friends will decrease, and you're going to naturally start looking for more friends that feel good to spend time with and keep you grounded. However, if there is this prior knowledge of your status or career, there's always a little scepticism that exists within you. Sometimes you're not really sure whether or not to fully form that friendship and trust them. But for me, luckily I have not only some of my high school friends, but people I’ve worked with. All of us working on Avatar: The Last Airbender, except for the adults, are kind of new to the industry. We're all sort of trying to figure out how to just be our best selves as actors, but also as people. All of us on the show are constantly keeping each other in check, which is really nice. That's such a precious thing.

That is really vital. I think in any career, having those sorts of connections is so important.  That's always the best thing with co-workers. Like, there's no extreme character that you’ll sometimes see in these television shows and movies. We're all people. We’re all just normal people, right? We're on the same TikTok algorithm! [laughs] Yeah, that's when you know they're for life: getting on the same algorithm!

That’s true compatibility! And, on the subject of friendships, one of the biggest themes in Avatar: The Last Airbender is the importance of community and friendship. How was your experience with building a community and support system during the filming of the series? I'd have to say in the beginning it wasn't too difficult. I was calling my mom every day, calling my manager every day, and staying in touch. And, you know, sometimes when you're put in those specific environments with new people, you go through this struggle bonding with the other actors and actresses. We also went through a boot camp for martial arts training, and we worked on scripts for a little bit. So, I'd say in the beginning it wasn't too difficult for me to make those connections.

However, later on in the process, when we were about four or five months into shooting, that's when I really relied on Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who plays Uncle Iroh, when I was on set. Then when I was off set, it was Ian Ousley, who plays Sokka. Him and I were actually roommates, so after months of shooting, we finally decided, yeah, let's move in together! Like, why not? Our characters rarely interact in the animated series, and when the main three were on set, I was at home, and then we'd just go back and forth. It was funny, he and I would always have some tea and just debrief the day after one of us would come home from work. It was totally like a real life couple activity!

So, you are playing Zuko in the new live-action series Avatar: The Last Airbender! What are you looking forward to most with the release of the series?  For this release, I'd have to say [I'm most looking forward to] the relationship between Zuko and Uncle Iroh. When Zuko is on his own, he's kind of this crazy, mad, angry teenager, right? He's going through a lot and he's experienced a lot. But when he's with Uncle Iroh, he seems to be more in touch with his senses and his emotions a little bit better, although he is still quite lost identity wise and in what he actually wants for himself. But I think everyone has felt that way in some part of their life, especially in their teenage years. That'll be something a lot of people can relate to - that feeling of being angry with whatever you might think is the cause of your problems, although not necessarily being fully self aware.

In the teaser, you get to see Ozai and Young Zuko fighting in their Agni Kai. I'm really excited to see people watch me play the younger version of Zuko as well. I think that'll be a fun twist, because younger Zuko is obviously, as you know, way different from bald ponytail Zuko. [laughs] I'm stoked for that. And I'm stoked for people to see Uncle Iroh in general. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is a super talented actor that helped me grow and become a leader on set, which was really big for me, because I didn't really understand the role of a series regular. Although they have this title of a regular character, and you know they're going to be in almost every episode, I didn't know what the role was when you're not on camera, and how your mood can affect the rest of the crew. So that was really, really valuable for me.

Zuko is portrayed as an “anti-hero” in Avatar: The Last Airbender, even though, in a lot of ways, he’s just a complex character going through his own coming-of-age and personal growth. What would you say are Zuko’s greatest internal struggles?  Personally, I had to really understand Zuko. I had to know every single part of the series. Even going back and watching YouTube analysis videos of his character was so beneficial for me. You see in the animated series of the first season, he's kind of just a hothead all throughout. So what I wanted to make sure I did was give Zuko some sort of depth as a real person. Because, yes, we are living in this fantasy world - you have all these crazy animals and spirits that are involved. But at the end of the day, these characters are human beings. They eat, they sleep, and, as a plus, they can bend. And, sure, bending is the whole thing about Avatar, but I wanted to give a real performance of me, a human being, as Zuko. He's been my favourite character since I was young! I wanted to sort of dissect my childhood and my own personal relationships, even though they’re incredibly different from Zuko’s, to see if I could use any of those past memories to my advantage. Although not all of them were very useful. Imagine if I was like, yeah, I burned my face! [laughs] No, just kidding. But, yeah, I think trying to relate to Zuko is going to be hard for anyone just because the trauma that he experienced was so extreme. But I worked with what I had. I had a lot of source material and I had a few performances to look at. I used everything that I could at my disposal.

What do you cherish the most about being a part of the Avatar: The Last Airbender world? Hmm, that’s a great question. Can I ask you to answer that question for yourself first? [laughs] I need time to think!

Oh gosh, turning the tables on me! It is definitely a difficult question, because there’s so much about the world that comes to mind. As a kid, it was the escapism for me that felt super important. Also, the whole idea of bending being this certain outward form of expression, like what art is for people, that was big for me to see as a kid. It’s why I love being an artist, and I think that carries through the series beautifully.  Dang, those are some great answers. Now I don’t know what to say! [laughs] Just kidding. Yeah, I totally agree with that. I think for me, my favourite part about the whole entire series is probably the individual journeys each character goes on and the storytelling within that. The way that each character's journey sort of ties in together and brings them to that one final battle. And it’s not only just the physical battle, but it's mental for each of them as well. I'd have to say, also, I love how much the fantasy world really does relate to the real world. There's a lot of beautiful themes in the series.

That’s a really lovely answer! There are themes in Avatar: The Last Airbender that are a bit grittier, like conflict and war, disability, discrimination, and grief. How important do you find these topics to be to the series and plot? And also exposing these topics to younger generations through the series?  I think it's so important, however I don't think it's the most important thing about the series. It's of course vital to give youth some sort of exposure to those grittier topics, because it does exist in the real world. It is, in a way, preparing them for these big world issues, right? Like, you're a kid, so typically you're kept in your house, taken care of by your parents, going to school. It's this simple life, but obviously as you get older, everything just becomes more complicated. It's tough to deal with all of that tragedy and evil that exists. However, what you see during those wars and the outcome of these amazing stories is that they're all good endings, so I guess that helps out the kids quite a bit. I mean, you don't really think about the genocide and violence in the series too, too much as a kid. You're like, ah, dang, they got wiped out. As an adult, you're like, oh my Lord! But, I guess because you're a kid, you don't really think too deep into it. So I think with every darker theme in the series, there's a lot of lighter themes to combat it. And, as a kid, you want to hold on to those light themes. It certainly balances out everything. I feel like the light certainly outweighs the darkness just because it is, at the end of the day, a kid series.

The nations in Avatar: The Last Airbender are influenced by East Asian and Inuit culture, which are respectfully showcased in the fantasy world. How do you think this series is providing a stage for representation, especially as a show that is revolutionising television for younger generations specifically? I think it's doing it in the best way possible, especially our live action series with Netflix. You see these Asian and Indigenous cultures, and it's something that everyone can relate to. You're seeing that representation in the faces, in the world building, in the costumes, but deep down at heart these are characters that everyone can relate to, or have met someone that they can relate to, that has a similar nature to all of these characters. I think that's where not only Asian and Indigenous cultures would like to move forward in Hollywood, but minorities in general would like to experience that well roundedness in the characters. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's cool we get to play ethnic characters that aren’t just only ethnic characters, but real human beings, you know? Their ethnicity isn’t the only thing about them, and not the thing that is being solely focused on. Their ethnicity is not their story.

Especially being in America, although those ethnic stories are extremely important to our story in Hollywood, it's cool we get to play these roles that don't exist in the real world, but everyone, no matter what race you are, will relate to these people. I mean, that's the whole reason I fell in love with the animated series as a kid. For me, I knew these characters were similar to me culturally, but to get to see them just live out their life in a fantasy world where none of that stuff really matters, it's just the world that they exist in, I think is so cool.

Now for a fun (and thematic) question…what natural element would you say you resonate with the most?  Hmm. This is so lame because I say the same answer every time, but it's so true. I'd have to say fire. I mean, it's a good one. And, yeah, that's just what people have said about my looks all my life. [laughs] No, no I’m joking about that! It's definitely the opposite. Definitely the opposite. But with fire, not only do I think it's the coolest, but I'm a Leo, I'm a fire sign. It just kind of all adds up.

In your previous conversation with Boys By Girls, you express your love of boba. I have to ask, what’s your go-to boba order? Ah, I think over the years it's gotten more and more simple, actually. Now I go to this place called Chicha San Chen. And boba is Taiwanese, but this place really emphasises that they're Taiwanese. For a boba shop, they're Michelin star rated or something like that. It's insane. If you're ever in LA, or I think the other location is in Vancouver, you’ve definitely got to give it a shot. It is so good. I usually always go with a black tea. At this place you can throw in cream or mousse, which is sometimes so nice with it. Then I like to get either fifty or seventy-five percent sugar, depending on the day. You can also order hot tea boba at this shop, and it's super good on chilly days… like this where it's 65 degrees [laughs] [It's for] when you're wearing your puffer jacket and beanie, and you're like, ooh, I need a little hot drink in my life. But then if I get iced, I always do less ice. Yeah, that's the order. Black milk tea, or jasmine milk tea, of course, is great as well.

If you could manifest this new year in one word, what would that word be?  I would have to say “forgiveness.” I pray for forgiveness because I think especially after coming out of COVID, people are trying to figure themselves out, and everyone needs forgiveness. Whether it's a person that has done you wrong or someone that you may have done wrong, knowing that maybe either one of you had a part in it and simply giving them that forgiveness and closure could go a very long way. Whether they're aware of whatever happened or not, I think to get that off of your own chest, or for them to get it off of theirs, is a small gesture that really can go a very long way. I think forgiveness can impact everyone very, very deeply.

That’s a stunning perspective and way to move into this new year! Thank you for the lovely chat, Dallas, it’s been such a pleasure. And I’m so excited to watch the show when it comes out!  Thank you, I appreciate it so much. This has been super fun!

[geeoharee]

2. Favourite canon story?

4. Favourite adaptation?

4. Favourite adaptation?

HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JEREMY BRETT

This is not a spicy opinion to have on Tumblr these days, but god he's so GOOD. I need the people saying 'Holmes is public domain now, where are our queer adaptations' to know about our bisexual 80s icon who was out there fighting for canon accuracy, while dealing with his own mental and physical health issues, WHILE trying to tactfully manage fan questions about whether they were gay or not (because if he said yes he'd never have worked again). Also he looks like this!

(Photo courtesy @peterjeremywilliamhuggins3. Yes, that is a pirate earring.)

"Well, in the Granada version -" is my answer to all questions about canon because actually I cannot remember what's in the text, I can only remember how Jeremy did it. And I'm fine with that. He was brilliant, and so were David and Ted. AND it was made just up the road - I am proud to live in Granadaland!

2. Favourite canon story?

Tumblr ate my draft about how important it is that Holmes tries to horse-whip Mr. Windibank in Case Of Identity --

Fuck it, Blue Carbuncle then. It's a Christmas special, Holmes lets the thief go because what does he care about some rich old lady's jewellery, then tells Watson 'ACAB' and 'it's Christmas I'm not sending someone to prison at Christmas'. Granada add a coda scene where Holmes and Watson skip dinner to go and free the guy that the thief framed. It is very cosy indeed. (Bert Coules has married Watson off by this point, just because it's in the books, so instead we get the most heart-rending set of stage directions ever written where it's 1AM on Christmas morning and Holmes wants to ask Watson to come home with him but doesn't know how. This story brings out the best in people.)

Also, it got a Cabin Pressure episode about a goose in a metal-detector.

[mirza-majoris]

Chapter 4 : Train trip

The compartment of the wagon was oddly silent. Well, in fact, neither Ray, nor Leon nor Hershel had anything to say. Or rather they wanted to say a lot of things but they didn't dare to, mostly because they didn't know where to begin.

Hershel was still wondering how Ray had managed to got them a compartment without any reservation, but deep down he already had the beginning of an answer, and it was not all about being legal. For now, and because he hadn't slept very well during the previous night, he was sleeping on the bench seat, with his father's own coat to keep him warm and cosy, after having watched the landscape running outside for quite some time.

Leon was staring at the Scottish man, sitting next to his son and making sure his plushy wasn't going to fall from his son's embrace. His eyes were more tired than before and he had crossed his arms, not ready to let any emotion pierce again through his face. He was thankful indeed, because without him they would be taken to the Nest already, but he was also very distant and worried, because it wasn't common to know Targent, and less common was Ray's abilities. Leon had been trapped in this bloody tower for weeks with his wife and, even if he hated to admit it, Targent's soldiers were good. Very good. And from what he had understood when they quickly got a few explanations while waiting for the train, Ray put four of them to sleep with no apparent difficulties, which was... almost impossible. And the man who was aiming at him seemed to know him well, and to be afraid of him too.

–Are ye goin' to stare at me like this for long, sassenach ?

Leon jolted. Ray didn't even looked at him, he was still looking at the fields, behind the window, and he knew perfectly well what Bronev was thinking in this instant. And in fact, the English archaeologist sighed and looked away.

–Stop calling me that.

Ray smiled a bit.

–Calling ye what ?

–That thing, "sasnar". What does it even mean ?

The man in the leather jacket chuckled and rolled his eyes before looking at the English man. His eyes were tired indeed but he refused to sleep, to have an eye on his son and to have an eye on him too.

–"Sassenach", it means "stranger". Or "English". To Scots, it's the same. Also, A think this name suits ye well since A'm sure ye're English at least. "Nikolaï" huh ?

Leon's face grew more serious and his eyes were almost as cold as a statue in the middle of a winter storm. This was a very sensitive topic indeed but they had to talk about it, or else their alliance was meant to end quickly. Judging by the man's willingness to protect Hershel, and how he looked at him, he had principles and a moral code, and he seemed reliable regarding Targent and his hatred toward this terrorist organisation.

–You heard him, huh...

–Leon Bronev, the famous Azran expert. Ye disappeared from a li'le village near Stansbury with yer wife, 2 years ago. And ye are one of the very few people to have escaped Targent.

Ray paused and stared at Leon who was livid and pulling his son closer from his side, as to protect him from an invisible menace. The Scottish man sighed and looked back through the window.

–Sorey...

–To anyone else, I'm Nikolaï Sycamore and he's my son Desmond. As for you, I'm still concerned about my son's safety since tonight you were clearly out of these agents' league. "Ray", seriously ? That's merely a nickname.

He smiled a bit, bitter, and sighed. This situation was really awkward and making them both uncomfortable but they had to adress the issue because it was the key to build a mere sense of confidence. However, the other man seemed to brush off the idea of talking about his name and focused back on a more important topic.

–Ye're not bad either. Nice hook, by the way.

–Thanks but... you're avoiding the topic. Why are you helping us ? You could've let us go on our own and then go on your own as well.

That question wasn't surprising, and somehow Ray was waiting for it. But even if he was prepared to hear it, he had no answer which would be satisfying enough to give to the archaeologist. This was his sensitive topic, the one he wasn't comfortable with, because the answer was also very unsatisfying for him as well.

–I... made some very questionable choices in the past... and...

He paused for a few seconds and stared at Hershel, or rather Desmond, who was sleeping under the coat and close to his father, before looking away again. In his eyes, Leon was certain to have spotted some guilt.

–Let's just say that I seek redemption... for the people I hurt. And I hope I'll achieve it someday...

Another long and heavy silence. Leon observed the man sitting in front of him with curiosity and yet with the clear impression that he was trying to hide the elephant in the room. And it was working rather well indeed since he had no idea what it could be. But the voice and the eyes of that strange Scottish biker were everything but full of lies. Deep inside, the English archaeologist knew his newly found ally was truly trying to make amend for something that happened in his life.

Ray sighed again but his dark eyes stared at Leon for some time before he finally decided to keep going.

–The past, A don't care. Ye want to be called Nikolaï, A'll call ye Nikolaï, same for yer boy, A'll call him Desmond. But for now... we need to head to somewhere safe. And nowhere will be, unless we put as much distance as possible between us and them.

Leon sighed again and kept his son close while looking outside. The sky was slowly starting to be covered with grey clouds and the air seemed to get colder. Judging by the direction the train took, and by the fact that they needed to head far away from London, they were probably heading north.

To break a bit with the heavy topic, Leon focused back on a lighter matter.

–You're wrong though. I'm not entirely English.

Ray raised an eyebrow. Leon rolled his eyes a bit playfully.

–My father was from Saint Petersburg.

Both men looked at each other before chuckling a bit, to ease a bit that pression that had been concentrated for a few hours now. Ray couldn't believe it.

–Ye're English AND Russian, fer God's sake !

–Da ! Now hush, you'll wake my son up...!

But the more he was thinking about it and the more they both wanted to laugh because that sounded like something absolutely uninteresting and yet oddly funny in this particular context. Ray shook his head and kept going.

–Well, as fer me, A owe ye the truth... Me real name's Raymond and I hate it.

–Oh... it explains a few things.

–Is that so ?

–...In fact no, it's just so... so not Scottish-sounding. Sounds like a French waiter at the Ritz.

They both began to laugh again after a glare from the Scottish man. This sounded rather strange to Leon, to hear himself laugh, because it had been weeks since the last time he truly was able to release all that stress. However, they had to come back to focusing on serious matters.

–I see... But it will still be rather risky and probably hard since being a single father with a young son is rather tough these days.

–We could... be roomates ? Flatmates ? A dunno, what do ye call two people livin' together and both paying the rent ?

If there was any kind of idea that was supposed to be crossing Leon's mind right now, it was certainly not this one ! In fact, this sounded so uncommon and unpredictable that he lost an instant to stare, his mouth wide opened and his eyes round and more round even.

–I beg your pardon ?

Ray raised and eyebrow and his shoulders.

–What ? Can't we somehow make it work ? A'm broke, A can't afford to live in a house by meself. And ye can't take good care of yer boy without an ally. It doesn't sound so crazy to me.

Leon stared at the man, his face, his eyes, his leather jacket, his position on the bench -quite relaxed, occupying the space he had- and his attitude until now and suddenly he began to laugh a bit, and the more he was thinking of the man as a "normal man doing normal things in a normal house", he couldn't help but to laugh a bit louder. This was enough for Desmond to yawn a little and open one eye, then the other, and looking at both adults who seemed to have been discussing important matter during his little nap.

–Hmm ?... Dad, why are you laughing ?

–F-For nothing, ahaha ! No, truly, don't worry, don't worry my boy... ahaha !... it's just that, oh god, Ray here just-

–What ? Is it so insane ?!

Desmond looked at both the men with a confused frown, waiting for an answer to his interrogation, and also rather surprised to hear his father laughing. Raymond sighed and shook his head while explaining a bit more what they were talking about a few minutes ago.

–We were talking about livin' together.

–Wait-what ?!

The little high-pitched voice of the boy was enough to make Leo laugh again, even though Desmond was, after this moment of blunt surprise, was seriously pondering the idea. It was risky, for sure, but at least they were together in this awful situation and they could possibly make it work. His little mind was way too serious sometimes and it was now one of these times.

–Well, it all depends on where we are going to move in... also, I doubt I can still be doing homeschooling. I love you dad but... you always tell me it's better to find knowledge everywhere rather than taking it always from the same source.

His father stopped laughing, opened his mouth with the intention to say something, but in the end he just closed it and mumbled something before sighing.

–That's... true, but... you know we have to be discrete.

Raymond thought it was his time to intervene.

–Neh, don't worry sassenach, ye're not goin' to be spotted where we're headin' !

–Oh, that's true... Where is this train going ?

–To Dingwall. It's a li'le town near Iverness, north Scotland. Targent is never goin' to come here, they wont suspect ye're hidin' with me.

Leon looked at the weather. Yup, typical Scottish weather coming ahead.

–I should've guessed. It's raining, in Dingwall, I guess ?

Raymond stared at Leon for a good minte long anf took a deep breath, trying to stop his tongue from being bitchy, but he couldn't help it.

–Of course it's raining ! Where do ye think Scotland is ? The freaking Pyrenees ?

–Language !

The archaeologist snapped before rolling his eyes and sighed once again.

–Why Dingwall ?

–Because A know where to find a house fer us three.

–A house ? Whose house ?

That was surprisingly... quick. There's no way he had been able to look for a house so soon so here it was, the elephant in the room. At this one too, Ray seemed a bit awkward and he muttered something no one heard correctly. Leon frowned.

–I beg your pardon ?

–... me mom's...

He muttered while blushing and looking away. Desmond and Leon looked at each other and then stared back at the Scottish man.

–.... what ?!

-> First chapter

-> Previous chapter

-> Next chapter

[fervency-if]

What's the ROs favourite sleepwear? How would they think and react if MC likes to wear one of those silly pajamas? I swear they are very comfortable! xD

The Physician enjoys sleeping in a simple, comfortable nightgown. The main character's taste would make her smile; that's charming...

Aubrey prefers to sleep in the nude; if he gets cold, he prefers to wrap himself in a lot of blankets instead of clothes. He would think the main character looked very endearing in their pajamas.

Vesa isn't too picky; it depends on how warm she is, and if she wants to 'impress' someone - like looking pretty in a short, silky nightgown, for example. She would like the main character's silly pajamas - it does look comfortable! She should get a matching one!

Narciso usually sleeps in a nice-looking silk pajamas. He would like the sight of the main character in their silly pajamas - funny and endearing. The important thing is that they're comfortable...

Roswhen prefers to sleep wearing underwear only, because they usually get quite warm. They would like the main character's silly pajamas, thinking that it looked comfortable indeed, and be a bit disappointed by the fact that they would get too warm if they slept in more clothes - it looks so cosy to just tuck oneself in while wearing that, but they know it would be too much for them.

Elan likes to be half-dressed; either underwear and a thin shirt, or loose pajama trousers while keeping his upper body bare. He would think that the main character looked absolutely adorable in their silly pajamas - the sight would make him smile.

[danbisroom]

Ep. 19 - This Is The Beginning Of Familiar Ends

Hello my beloved fellow souls,

welcome back to Danbi’s Room, your weekly dose of safe space. Go grab a cup of something warm and get yourself cosy.

I hope you had a nice week where you received, you know, some kind of revelation. Or where you managed to trust your guts a bit more. That’s really really really important.

Very often we're told to get out of our comfort zone, which is not a bad thing: it is, in fact, very good advice. It’s crucial to explore, to learn new things, to let our soul understand that mistakes are part of the process and that “not being good” at something is the exact reason why we start learning it. Not that “being good at” whatever should necessarily be the goal. I’m an overachiever myself, I crave knowledge more than anything else, sometimes even more than love. Ambition eats me alive every day and more often than not my life feels like a constant race against time to learn everything I can as soon as possible. But there are indeed a few things to break down here. First and most simple: we have all of our life to learn and discover and it’s never pointless. Learning should be pure joy, learning for learning’s sake. Socrates learnt a new tune with his flute, in his prison cell, just a few days before his execution. Why? Well, why not? We’re here to be happy not to be machines. Secondly, it still takes effort and sacrifice to learn: it can be tiring, we might feel like idiots and we might think about giving up. Actually, now and then, giving up could be the right choice to make. Sometimes something’s not for us, or it might be better to pursue it in the future. But there are definitely times where we just need to push a bit more. Motivation alone is not always enough. Be hungry, fight. Sink your claws in the flesh of your dreams, no matter what. Even Odin the Allfather sacrificed his own eye to eat the fish that granted him full knowledge. Last but not least, the former two statements don’t mean there’s a set definition of what all of this means. There’s no hierarchy in knowledge, nor in learning. What does it mean “to be good at”? We’re so used to capitalise on everything we forget that many things are just human things to do. Like eating, drinking water and sleeping. So are dancing, singing, making art and many other things. They’re beautiful, raw and human. Like breathing. Why do we make our life a synthetic product? That itself is not very human and it’s not very nice either. Our curiosity got us to do so many wonderful stuff, why do we let it decay into suffering? Why do we strangle ourselves until suffocation? We can’t breathe anymore, our vision’s blurry, thick fog is hunting our brain yet we’ve become so comfortably numb we don’t notice anymore. We forget we have our own hands pressing furiously on our own throat. Even in the rare moments of clear-headedness we don’t seem to be able to move them. We’ve sunken so abysmally deep into total discomfort that we’re not even gasping for surface, air and sun anymore. What is actually hard now is not getting out of the comfort zone, but rather to be able to go back to it. Letting ourselves be okay, go back home, be ourselves, feel good in our own skin. We don’t know that. We don’t even know where to look for it. Where’s home? Where’s the sky? It’s not even about finding answers anymore, it’s about creating them. Having no path makes you lost and astray but it also means you can go everywhere you want. You can let your instinct guide you home without useless noise. When discomfort is so familiar it might be a very good idea to begin to end it.

Listen and walk.

I’ll be right here.

It’s all good now.

Today’s song recommendation is Abysmal by Hannah Bahng, though I advise you to listen to the full EP from the beginning to the end. The abyss, my loves, has always much to say.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and that you have a beautiful week ahead of you!

I’ll see you in the next one, big hug!

With love, yours,

Danbi

[flockrest]

this one's to the lovely who dropped an entire essay back @ me in the inbox! i've decided to format the post such that i can answer some portions directly so none of us get confused, hope you don't mind! anything indented is what you sent in, the rest is part of my response :) it's another doozy but we love those, don't we? asflkdj here we go!

Hi, hope you're doing well! I'd been the anon giving you asks more on Revali's personality and his behavior around the Flock and the Flock's reaction (mostly Tulin's) towards him. Also, the 1.6k did not overwhelm me- if anything made me very happy and overall more curious ahahaha. If anything- thank you so much for accepting and taking the time to answer these asks. Can relate to the unhinged feelings over the lonely rito- I could be hours and hours thinking. That gif of the guy with a board behind full of clues and trying to connect the dots- that's currently me.

hello, welcome back! thank you, hope you're having a wonderful time too!! ♡ also gotta thank you again for sending these in, i genuinely get so excited to see things like this in my inbox!! your passion is so great to see! i'm glad you enjoy my answers, and that they make you all the more curious and open to sharing with me ♡ what a huge mood though afklsjdg this stupid bird just has So Much to him

I've re-read your post various times and even tried organizing my thoughts in paper. And there is so much I want to ask... What caught a lot my attention- was how you spoke a bit of Rito village during & after the Calamity; ofc we don't really get a clear picture of the before even with AoC's light but we do get the clearest view of the aftermath of it (ofc 100 years skipped). I do feel (Pre-Calamity) Rito Village had a larger flock(?) compared to the village we get exposed during BoTW/ToTK events. In a way feels the loss of their Champion & Calamity's wrath- made them all realize the importance of that sense of unity.

yes, exactly! you get it! it's a natural outcome from suffering any huge loss...and while it comes from a place of tragedy, i just. really appreciate how homely and cosy rito village feels in both botw and totk because of it — you get that sense of nobody is genuinely uncared for, even link! and this isn't to say that the other peoples of hyrule don't care for their own, it just! hits different with the rito. like you get the impression that everybody interacts with each other everyday! you literally can't go from the top of the village to the bottom without seeing almost every single resident; they're all practically neighbours! they're all, on some level, friends!

this significance on sticking together as a community is especially evident in totk. seriously, it makes me so emo seeing the kids step up to fill in spaces the adults did not mean to leave behind nor expect them to fill :') and their efforts don't go unrecognised, as they shouldn't be, but oh my god. on my hands and knees over how cherished the kids are in this damn flock!! nekk ( MY BELOVED ) puts it best: "they're the saviours of this village."

and like! they're going through extremely hard times with supply scarcities but still find the capacity to be so generous?? there are more things than i expected lying about that you can just grab — that they'll consciously let you grab! i'm going to need these folks to stop having such a huge collective heart fr it's making me feel A Lot 😭

( and in reviewing cutscenes from both botw and aoc in this context, i think we can safely say that their residential population was indeed bigger pre-calamity. there's more background npcs just chilling about in the memory "revali's flap" compared to most post-calamity cutscenes, and aoc literally shows that there are enough rito present for brigades! the reduced numbers we see post-calamity could simply be attributed to more rito travelling beyond their home and even hyrule, but then the calamity would probably be a big reason for that too )

Brings me back to ToTK, where I noticed most adults in a way spoke highly & relied (at least to me) a bit on Tulin's ability to use wind magic- after all it's been a long time since they ever witness it. But also appreciated how Harth's dialogues which he praises the boy's ability but is concerned of how Tulin is taking certain approach (how at first he goes alone) and his overworking state. Even Teba & Saki recognize their son's abilities but as parents are concerned- I am pretty sure while they acknowledge him as a rito warrior, they also want him to continue living his childhood. (Link does too btw- sorry I don't mention them often)

OH, FOR SURE. you are right on many points here; for sure, the adults have come to see tulin as a young rito warrior in his own right and do trust him to contribute in a way they wouldn't ask of the other fledglings; harth makes it clear that even before link had come, sending tulin to investigate the cloud surrounding the stormwind ark was an option they weren't as opposed to as our introduction to the kid made it seem ( and it's not just his wind-gust technique they're so in awe of either! god. he really has worked so hard!! and everybody can see it! 😭😭 ).

with the worry, i believe the nature of it really depends! it's all completely warranted given how tulin's initial views on how "he doesn't need anyone else backing him up" has apparently "gotten him into trouble more times than [harth] can count" ( which is definitely concerning but also. it can't be anything worse than getting his bow stolen and being left with just his talons for defence in the face of a monster, right? because tulin. tulin. that could not have been your turnaround if you've been doing shit like flying straight into frost taluses solo or something sflkjd ) anyway, but it seems for teba and harth, it's more in a we're worried you're actively sabotaging yourself with your recklessness way.

saki had hang-ups about tulin losing his innocence too early in botw ( "he is such a sweet boy," she says, and it never fails to make me collapse on my knees because he so is and the best thing is he never loses that aspect of himself!! ), but does appear to have come to accept that her son's growing up in totk? i unfortunately don't have a screenshot of the line that indicates this, nor do i remember it verbatim, but the vibes i'm getting from her are i'm worried because you have not learnt enough to be as grown up as you insist you are ( which leaves you ill-prepared for the situations you're trying to fly into ).

ofc it all connects to a primary worry for his safety and his tendency to do way more than anyone would ask of him, but i do think they understand, on some level, that trying to completely stop him is ultimately futile and will only make things worse — in that he'll start deliberately pushing them away when he's only leaving them behind for now.

he's a tween! still a child but only ever getting older, and with how important it is to their culture, i imagine being a warrior isn't as mutually exclusive from childhood as it'd be for us. like tulin's an outlier because he's a prodigy who excessively worked himself to that title, but i don't doubt that compulsory education for growing fledglings would involve, among other things, learning how to at least hunt and defend yourself in the wild! so i don't think it's that they're scared of him growing up too fast at that point in totk — because while he's definitely matured more than his peers in some parts, he is very much still experiencing being a child no matter what he argues in many others aflskdj — just more like...they want him to grow up well. properly, for a lack of better words. WHICH INCLUDES NOT OVERWORKING. oh my god with the overworking

( also oh boy. very glad you brought up link! no need to be sorry! i can't say much on him because i'm not a link writer, though i do ramble about his dynamic with tulin, including how he potentially sees himself reflected in him, over here if you're interested! )

But this also sends me off to another "path" makes me think- What if Revali didn't have this type of support? And it made me think how similar were Revali's and Tulin's in some aspects but how different the outcome were for both- it's a bit tragic at least for me.

YES. YES!! THIS IS IT, YOU HIT IT ON THE HEAD!! i've said it before and i'll say it again: tulin and revali are essentially one support system removed from being each other! they share notable parallels!

just. the fact that harth notices the injuries on tulin's wings from pushing himself to the limits. we don't get follow-up dialogue on that, but there's such a high chance that Words are exchanged between them when link leaves them be because we've seen their relationship. we know how harth cares for tulin, we know tulin is loved for more than what he can do and looked out for. now juxtapose that with revali, thrown out of his own tornado, alone in that moment where he picks himself up as well — but way less likely to have anyone say anything about his wing injuries or to even let someone think he has them. [spontaneously combusts]

i would say more on this and why the sages of totk in general act well as foils to the champions of botw, particularly regarding themes, but that really does feel like a post for another time sdflkjd and it is tragic! it is very tragic! revali was doomed by the narrative in more ways than one :')

I remember the diary where he speaks how the town began praising him for his achievements- that type of validation can be good but to an extreme and left unchecked, it can spiral someone into depending of it. And yet at the end of that diary... he still spoke how he need to continue perfecting himself. Something that AoC made me think in more depth was how almost everyone was "chosen" by destiny (or have a unique ability) and carried a title. But when I look at Revali he seems somehow an abstract to them. Even though in his diary such things were not something he cared for- he mostly valued folks by their responses and actions. (Note: Found cute how he appreciated the scarf and gave one to his bow... It really meant a lot to him// Also I do think Revali appreciated all the Champions including Zelda & Link).

YEAH. YEP. and the way he at first speaks about it, how he contradicts himself in tone despite trying to sound so self-assured — "as one would expect" VS the "i...could get used to this." that follows in the same entry — that's the attention and glory he's always wanted! now he's gonna affix it to the meaning of loving and being loved. which he's also going to attach to his abilities and what he can offer, which is deeply connected to his perceived self-worth. and he's going to make sure he'll never run out of ( tbf real and well-earned ) confidence in that self-worth by constantly pushing himself to greater, more impossible heights. i'm going to put this bird in a washing machine.

he's literally just a guy!! it's one of my favourite things about him, he's Just Some Guy in the group of people who were born into wealth; powers; blessings; respect. they all had their trials, but he earned his place among them from the comparative nothing he started out with and he's justifiably proud of this!

i do think he's also insecure about it at first, tbh ( which he reacts to by laying on the conceit even thicker ), even though his belief in hard work being a supreme indicator of one's "true strength" isn't actually shaken. he is genuinely like i more than deserve to be here but he's also like. and there's nothing you can do about it. don't you forget it. don't you forget it. don't you ever forget it. i wouldn't say it mellows out, but the more he gets to see the champions in action ( thus confirming that they are on his level — that he's fit to make a constellation amongst these that've already been mapped ), the less inclined he feels to explicitly remind them.

and oh my god. the things i could say about what the blue scarf likely means to him. it was handcrafted by zelda, hyrule's princess, for him specifically. it's part of a matching set with other big powers of hyrule. titles and uniform do nothing for him, he claims, but isn't this like being told you are one of us? that you have much to offer? it's "meaningless pomp", he says.

it's also still a gift.

the cloth he ties to his bow is the same shade of blue. i should really make another study post speaking about this more in depth, but i've always interpreted it to be a memento the same way teba and saki's feathers on tulin's quiver are! in tulin's time, this might mean, "these people are always with me." in revali's time, on the brink of a calamity, i imagine it might mean, "( if i fall, you who finds me, ) i belonged with these people."

And yet when Teba & Tulin show up- there is this subtle change on him(?) I wished the game had dwelled a bit more on Teba and Revali. Seeing their interactions was always interesting and in a way, Teba seemed to understand the rito champion. While I felt Teba was that friend or even family member(?) that Revali needed in a way or I could be just over reading, ahaha sorry. But sincerely, I always felt Teba & Tulin were that family or friends- that in a way Revali needed and it makes me think so hard on the "What ifs" and "What could have been"...

what i wouldn't have given for more content and interactions between these three as well!! it's especially fascinating to think about it from teba's side — there is so much recontextualising he has to do and does do about revali, because the one he's grown up idolising and hearing Songs about is uh. well, he's certainly there in the revali he meets, but i doubt he's really prepared for things like how painfully young he is.

he handles it very well honestly asfklsdjg i would not have taken to the realisation that my champion is a warrior hardened only by constant work and the battles he throws himself into, and kind of a fucking brat because he's like the 18yo who thinks being 18 is a decade away from being 17, and died distressingly young back in my timeline with the same grace he gives when he says — of the entire wild experience that is aoc — "this has been enlightening".

you are not over-reading, do not be sorry fr!! i do think revali found an opportunity for companionship in teba that he couldn't find anywhere else when he's built relationships and dynamics he can't change because he has an image to uphold! teba already comes with a dire respect for revali, the knowledge that his story does not end nicely, AND HE'S AN ACTUAL DAD. that sort of thing can bleed into your behaviour and the way you process things without meaning to asflkdjgs

THE BIGGEST MOOD!! wow i'm so glad writers ( it's me, i'm writers ) can create literally anything they want and so can explore these what ifs and what could have beens and give a resolution to a story cut short. this is what my the champions survive au is all about, i hope to have you stay long enough to see these things come out of it ♡

As for the Flight Range & Saki's dialogue; I've always been emo about the F.Range specially when you walk in and hear his theme playing in this music box style... it's like part of his soul is also there but that flame that burnt passionately has subdued and waits to pass to torch to the next generation. In ToTK it made me cry- specially when Kaneli comments (when you pick the bow,arrows) how they been collecting dust... But on the bright side, made me happy that even with the damages- they still hold dearly to the place and is currently being used as training grounds for flight. Which... is what Revali wanted for his people for them to reach the sky and break the limits (or that how I interpreted it).

AUGH EXACTLY, YOU GET IT!! 😭 he never gave it his name but it'll always be his! it's the most melancholic we ever get to hear his theme, full of the wistful yearning that was definitely present but more muted in its botw version! it's lost potential. an unsaid goodbye. revali's gone. but it's also grounds for hope, a tiptoeing hello: his legacy lives on still! i will always go fucking feral over the music in these games!!

YES!! YEAH!! [HOLDING YOU BY THE SHOULDERS] he calls his journal "the diary of revali, the rito legend" BUT HE DOES NOT. GIVE THE FLIGHT RANGE LITERALLY MADE FOR HIM HIS NAME. because it was never going to be something solely for him. he loves his people, he was never going to stymie their prospects! this loser is so good at making me infuriatingly sad AUGH

Re-reading Saki's dialogue with the context you given me- hit me like a ton of bricks. Because it was a new pov. When I first read her dialogue, I took it more of a "Remembering our Champion- one we couldn't help" rather than "commemoration of what he couldn't do". But I also remembered how contrasting are Teba and Saki; Teba being a warrior with pride, reckless at times - who admired greatly Revali's feats and aspired once to surpass him. Meanwhile Saki is more calm and is concerned with the concept of engaging battle- nervous about the training her son was exposed to. So, when re-reading her dialogue I take it more of a wife and mother concerned of losing her companion/husband and son to a similar fate to Revali's.

i swear we are on the same wavelength. yes, exactly!

another thing about revali's landing that makes me so, so deliriously emo — it's a physical permanency given without request: in the best way they can afford to grant it. the rito notably have very little tangible representations of themselves. they don't have statues or effigies like the zora or gorons ( and why would they, when they have Songs and the Windlines and are also probably restricted by their morphology ), and revali does not have any family to be likened to. link remembers him through seeing the landing, which was there, a part of rito village, before it was ever deemed revali's. it wasn't made for him. but they gave it to him! and i'm!! [BLUBBERING]

Revali's love for his people and Rito Village- it breaks me. I can understand that sentiment of loving someone or something from a far (?) - Even when challenging W.Blight and listening to his lines (both english and spanish for me), one can hear that hidden sadness. It's hearing someone who wants to go back home. "But even so, it will always be my home." - the entirety of those lines really hit me so hard the first time I've heard them.

I KNOW. I KNOW. [head in hands] a century has passed and he can't fathom it. "there's no one left who would even know me." he sounds so struck by it, in both the original jpn and english audio, i want to wrap him up in a blanket and toast him like a marshmallow! how much of that is grief? how much of that is longing? how much of that is some strange solace, in knowing he's alone but there's nothing he could've done about it this time?

Also, it makes me glad seeing a Tulin who can see the good in Revali- even if the champion can have a bit of a thorn like exterior. I've read some of the threads! They been wonderful and brought me a lot of joy. It makes me happy to see Tulin taking flight and moving forward. When you mention your student-disciple, are you referring to Kido? I know there were two names but I've lost the post with the cups. I would love to hear about them all!

thank you!! it heartens me to know that you've dipped into some of my ic writing too! i hope you'll continue to enjoy your stay here!! ♡♡

SLFKJKSDLG SO I'VE CHANGED IT IN THE POST NOW, but i meant master-disciple! apologies for the confusion!! kido is an original character of mine who would actually rather fall into totori lake than be revali's student alfjsdkg but that's how it be when you're a kid with a complex, turned-less-than-pleasant background with the concept of revali. if you're interested and up for it, please do give his dossier and study tag a peek! this is by no means a request that you do; it's totally fine if you leave him be!

There so many questions and facts, I would love to talk about... but as I scrolled up- I noticed this is becoming a long one. I am so sorry. I'd been trying to simplify and cut a bit ;-; Plus, I know this blog is a multiverse but focused on Tulin and I don't want to bother. So once again, thank you so much for taking your time in answering these asks. If anything if you ever do the academic-paper length study on lonely birb, I'll run over to read it X'D !!! But I'd been enjoying everything of the meta- the studies on rito's culture and behaviour. Also been curious on your views on Kass taking the role of a bard... Yeah, looking forward to keep reading. Thank you once again.

please, never be sorry for giving me your thoughts, no matter how long they end up being!! i mean it! i enjoyed reading through every line, it means a lot to me that you'd take the time and energy to send something of this scale to me ♡ you did not bother and will not bother, i promise! any of my muses are up for discussion, and so are their people in general! i have an itch to talk about these birds at all times, lurkers like you give me a great scratch ♡

one more time, thank you for your kind words!! i'm so happy to know that my thoughts are received this well!!

KASS MY BELOVED. i'm not sure if you've seen my study on what Songs, Songkeepers, and Scriptweavers are, but if you have, then here's some paraphrased disco ramblings on my Thoughts on him! with how important a role he played in keeping and invoking memories of the champions in botw's dlc, i'm of the belief that he's rito village's primary Songkeeper! ahaha, on this note ( and this is more of a fun roleplaying easter egg than anything ): my botw verse is named Song of the Reclamation — i keep the headcanon that kass, specifically, writes this Song after the game's events tucked away with other misc. details that inform how i run things here :)

this is already long enough, so i think i'll end it here asfljkd but feel free to bounce your thoughts off me anytime! this has been an absolute pleasure, looking forward to seeing you in the inbox again whenever you drop by! thank you!! ♡

[joemuggs]

The Local is the Local

OK this is another unfinished article. Entirely my fault this time. I wrote it as a draft for a magazine, who asked me to rejig it (fairly in this case - it's a bit bitty), but life events stopped me doing the rewrite in time - and the longer it sat on my hard drive the more of a burden redoing it felt.... So I just need to dump it here, get it out there, and then develop the theme in a new way next year. Because it IS about something important to me (to all of us really), so hopefully having it out in the world will help me get my thoughts in order. Interesting sidetone: I had not heard of Cory Doctorow's concept of "enshittification" when I wrote it!

**********

To paraphrase Dickens, they were the shittest of times, they were the even shittierest of times. The litany of war, pestilence, impoverishment, looming destruction, failing institutions and all the rest really, really isn’t funny any more. Just shit. Even the lowest-information of punters notices the decline daily: not just when they need services like police or doctors or public transport, but in the very fabric of things. Even the relatively cosy market town where I live with my family – having moved out of South London to the New Forest in 2017 to give our two then-small kids space and fresh air – noticeably has crumbling building facades and a lot of shut-down shops, and the big towns are worse.

Our nearest cities are Southampton – which to be fair has never recovered from its PTSD from World War II anyway – and Bournemouth. Bournemouth, too, has always been a bit tatty – seedy too, the epitome of faded Victorian glamour – but nonetheless energetic, like the party town it is: a kind of Brighton minus the airs and graces. Lately, though, that energy is muted to say the very least. The city centre is eerie as anything with some of the biggest department and chain stores boarded up with nothing to replace them. It’s not quite a wasteland, but it’s not itself, either. It’s not right. It feels sad.

It’s easy to get angry about this stuff. It’s even easier to get down and defeated. A decade and a bit of neglect of… well…everything in the name of austerity has weakened everything, eroded the resilience needed to ride out the latest economic shocks. And the state of towns and cities doesn’t just symbolise this, they are the heart of the problem, the ebbing away of commerce and socialisation in them drives atomisation. Often it feels like too many people are beaten down, resigned, heading not towards riots but just towards a creeping anomie, distancing and acceptance of inevitable worsening of… well… everything.

There are oases of hope though – albeit slightly odd ones. Some of the best times I’ve had in Bournemouth lately have been at record fairs. Now, yes, I’m a middle aged man with decks and Kallax shelves in the garage, but honestly, this isn’t what you’re thinking. These aren’t just forums for people like me to jostle and hustle over dusty crates and bore on about rare pressings. They’re family affairs. They’re fun. The Eats’n’Beats fair takes over coffee roasters’ courtyards, with food, clothes and craft stalls. Re:Warm’s pop up shop is run by Balearic geezers, taking over a craft brewery taproom so people of all ages can eat, drink and socialise all day long around the music.

There’s two vital parts to this, the first being the food and drink. Food halls, stalls and fairs have maybe got a bad name lately, thanks to blanded out mall versions, price gouging at festivals and – worst – the gentrification spearhead affairs masterminded by hospitality industry wideboys to create bourgeois enclaves in big cities where almost all white attendees can sample safe packets of “ethnic” experience for £8 a recycled cardboard plateful. But step outside the metropoles and the picture is very different. People are thrilled by culinary variety, and very glad indeed to support local cooks and produce merchants. Food fairs are actual special occasions.

Back in late 2020, Covid still running amok, Owen Hatherley wrote a piece for the Guardian about high street regeneration focusing on how the people of Preston, Lancs took the initiative in what he called “craft beer social democracy, based on small trades doing interesting things.” My antennae sparked on reading it and I couldn’t get the phrase “craft beer social democracy” out of my head. If an arch Corbynist like Hatherley could find things to love in something so close to the Cameronian Big Society / Jamie Oliver Big Lunch model, odd things were afoot.

The second element in play is music, especially club music, and the culture that comes with it. The Balearic aspect in particular – laid back, anything-goes, not beholden to the doof-doof, but smart and interesting sounds – provides the perfect atmosphere to come-one-come-all daytime events. Even in a staid village, get a few people sitting around on haybales drinking craft cider and eating pizza, play “I’m Not in Love”, some Soul II Soul and some Róisín Murphy on nice speakers, and hey presto: vibes upon vibes. And just as importantly, the hypersocial, and now cross-generational, nature of club culture provides its own infrastructure to build on too – again, something easy to take for granted or write off as facile if you’re in a major hub city, but a lifeline if you’re out in the gammon-infested sticks. I already knew this thanks to my wife being a founder of the Big Fish Little Fish family rave organisation, and getting to see the joy it brings to relatively socially isolated parents, but seeing the same vibe connections seeping into genteel school fetes and pub gardens has been an eye-opener.

That linkage into subculture in turn links into a different sort of urban regeneration: the DIY venue. Last year, not that long after I’d made contact with the Bournemouth record fair crews, I got invited to write about the music scene in Tyneside and was bowled over by the sense of an area relatively overlooked by arts funding and the culture industry determined to build its own infrastructure. Venues like Cobalt, Star & Shadow, The Lubber Fiend and World Headquarters are created and maintained not just for their own scenes but with a sense of adding to the fabric of the city. Again, as with the Preston story, something that stood out was the "odd blend of hard-left politics and entrepreneurialism" that comes when communities pull together.

My weekend in the Northeast made me think again about other spaces I’ve attended, been in touch with or heard friends enthuse about. Sheffield’s Hope Works, a proper down and dirty techno dive that every year blossoms into the No Bounds arts festival across the city. Rye Wax in Peckham, the record-store-café-venue that’s been in suspended animation since Covid lockdown but is about to be reborn with an Arts Council funded youth mentorship programme in tow. Futtle brewery in Fife. Spit And Sawdust skate art cafe bar in Cardiff. Partisan, The Carlton Club and White Hotel in Manchester. The Golden Lion, Todmorden. The Cellar Arts Club in Worthing. Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh. Future Yard in Birkenhead. Club Uniquity in Somerleyton, Suffolk. Café Indie in Scunthorpe...

There are dozens more besides, crucially each with its own approach and character, a million miles from the sanitised O2 / Carling / Live Nation owned £7 plastic-glass-of-rat’s-piss monoculture that has taken hold of venues and festivals in this country. Some are built around dance music, but many around indie rock or noise/experimental music, or LGBTQ+ scenes, or all of the above. Often there’s radical politics behind them, but just as often you’ll find a hodge-podge: as in Hatherley’s “craft beer social democracy”, necessity makes for interesting alliances, and hard left and woolly libs, idealists and bootstrap entrepreneurs, rigorous ethical frameworks and widepersons of the blag economy, will rub along together.

But whatever their individual slant, they tend, crucially to have deep roots in some kind of subcultural history. At the time of writing I’m preparing to head up to Bristol to chair panel discussions at the Black Gold Vinyl Fair at Lost Horizon HQ. This gig/rave venue, cafe, gallery, marketplace and VR studio (!) is run by the team behind Shangri La – the successor to Lost Vagueness as Glastonbury Festival’s “naughty corner” – with an ethos eyeballs-deep in mischievous hippie/anarchist-leaning squatter history, but also the organisational nous that it takes to be part of the 21st century double-fenced Glastonbury megalopolis. That sense of subcultural history – folk culture, even – has been brought brightly to life just recently by the celebrations of what would have been the late, great Andrew Weatherall’s 60th birthday. They may have begun in superclub fabric, but they progressed through smaller venues in Belfast and Glasgow to close with a weekender in the strange, storied Golden Lion in Todmorden.

All of this – the food fairs, the vinyl and beer all dayers, the record shops with charcuterie, the little rave dives with coffee machines and yoga classes in the daytime, all of it – is sorely needed. The triple whammy of Brexit, Covid and the Cozzy Lizzy (as we must now call the economic collapse) have hit the music industry very, very hard, and gigs and festivals worst of all. Even international acts are finding it hard to tour and will do for the foreseeable future, which is going to be career ending for some – and for many of the tens of thousands of people who prop up the infrastructure. It’s hard to overstate the damage, but there are at least crumbs of comfort for young acts, local scenes and little venues held together with gaffer tape and deranged strength of will.

And our towns and cities need them, too. It’s been wild seeing the conspiratarians and antiwokers turn on the 15 Minute City as the latest target for spittle flecked ranting. But hopefully, maybe this can be a galvanising force for all the rest of us to remember that actually, yes, our neighbourhoods can be better. The craft beer and food court aspects may have got a bad rep as being bougie or gentrifying, but that is a misunderstanding and ultimately snobbery. Thankfully the subculture parts – whether it’s punk, rave, balearic, queer scenes or whatever – do still manage cut across class and other social boundaries. And ultimately, given the right welcoming atmosphere, having a drink or a cake and listening to tunes is pretty inclusive as activities go.

Oddly enough, there isn’t really any map to this territory, there’s no guidebook to where to find the truly independent happenings. Perhaps that’s because those big brand sponsored faux-popups, box parks and gentrifier vanguard food courts with their PR budgets suck up all the air of publicity, perhaps it’s because the indie spaces are too cranky, too individual, too busy just staying afloat to link up into a movement. They need each of us to seek them out.

We don’t really have a flagship community space in this bit of the south coast just yet – at least I don’t think we do: I’d love to be surprised and proved wrong. My exploration of our nearby cities has been cursory until recently, having had social life limited first by young children, then by two years of Covid disruption. Only now, with my kids hurtling into their teens, am I really finding my feet socially and musically. But between a few ramshackle bars and shiny breweries and those fun afternoons rifling through tunes and eating fancy cookies, I am finding a few glimmers of hope. And in these shittest of times hope is, of course, the most precious commodity of all.

[nirnrootic]

continued from here.

“It is almost done. Hush.”

The afternoon warmth danced over bare skin and burrowed under fabric. It was balmy and cosy; if it wasn’t for his concentration, he might’ve felt the allure to simply bask in the sun’s smile to be nigh overwhelming.

Indeed, he was busy. Very important business, you see …

Erosandros’ deft fingers worked; weaving and twisting flaxen tresses, melding them with the stubby, narrow stalks of the white blossoms to form a pretty, floral garland in Briengr’s mane. He endeavoured to keep his touches light, his tugs gentle, by virtue of how Briengr wriggled and winced if he were any harder.

“If you ruin my work, I will snap your neck.”

Even though violence bloated his words, he smiled. There was no true intent lurking behind that light tone. He was well aware that the full moon anxiously awaited for night to fall; tonight, Hircine’s favour would ripple across the province, howls would fill the sky and bloodshed would darken the dirt. Those who were blessed by a city’s tall wreathe of wood and stone might even be oblivious this particular monthly occurrence—but anyone who travelled the roads, lived more nomadically, would be well aware: the lycanthropes would reign, tonight. They knew to fear these nights.

@sunxdusk.

[niemernuet]

Happy Birthday

rating: T pairing: Justiel length: 1'200 words

Justin did not know what woke him in the morning but it was either the soft snoring coming from the other bed in his back or the dull, throbbing headache behind his forehead. He remained unmoving where he was, pressed against the warm body next to his on the narrow bed, one hand tucked under his head and his eyes closed. Of course he could not fool Daniel, and after a few moments, a finger started to stroke through his beard and over his cheek. Justin kept his eyes wisely shut, and smacked his lips a few times. He had something very important to say, and he did not want to sound like a frog. His mouth was dry, and his tongue had grown a layer of felt overnight.

“Do you still know what I told you about trying to out-party Odi?” Daniel’s voice was a bit hoarse from sleep but as soft and as fond as the finger caressing his beard.

Finally, Justin opened his eyes. The curtains were shut tightly, and the harsh sunlight of the morning was dimmed to a pleasant twilight. The air inside was probably rank but also cosy and warm, and Justin decided a burst of fresh air could wait. Daniel watched him with an amused smile, and gently laid his hand on Justin’s cheek. Justin’s heart grew wings and fluttered in his chest; even after all their years together he could not get enough of Daniel.

“Let me remind you that he’s half a decade younger than you,” Daniel continued, and stroked his thumb over Justin’s cheek.

Justin cleared his throat softly, and moved his head a bit forward to kiss Daniel. “Happy birthday.” Pleased with the sound of his voice he moved his head back into the hollow that had formed in the pillow during the few hours of sleep. Daniel followed him though, and kissed him again, even though Justin’s breath must have reeked.

“Thank you,” he whispered when they broke off. For a while nobody said anything, and they smiled at each other while the soft snoring continued unperturbed, and ever so often a scraping noise sounded from the floor.

“Remember what you promised me last night?” Daniel eventually asked. “What we’d do to make it the best 30th birthday of all time?”

Justin’s heart skipped a beat, and a soft tingle rushed down his spine. No, he had not the faintest idea what he had promised the love of his life last night, and it was only Daniel’s obvious amusement that prevented Justin’s bad conscience.

Daniel moved his hand, and combed through Justin’s hair. Justin closed his eyes, and sighed.

“You said I’d wake up with your lips around my dick, and we’d have mind-blowing sex before even leaving the bed,” Daniel began. Justin winced.

“Then, we’d go for a hangover-breakfast and a spa day in Alexis’ hotel. Apparently you booked it with him personally, and he assured you we’d have the whole place practically to ourselves.”

“Oh no,” Justin whispered, and Daniel could not hold back a chuckle.

“It was exactly three a.m. when you told me that, and of course that immediately made me a bit uneasy. I wrote Alexis, and he wrote back that you called him only a few minutes earlier but he could not understand you over the music.”

“Oh nooooo,” Justin said, and drew the word out until he ran out of breath.

“Yeah,” Daniel said. “By the way, you don’t need to hurry with your apology. He said he blocked your number and will unblock you after the world championships.”

“That’s fair,” Justin acquiesced.

“M-hm,” Daniel answered, and kissed Justin on the tip of his nose. “Afterwards, you said we’d go back to the hotel, and then on a romantic walk along the reservoir for the artificial snow to that restaurant with the 400-euro-pizza for an early dinner. You said we wouldn’t have sex in the evening because, and I quote, I need to preserve my rocket fuel for the big race.”

“Indeed you do,” Justin muttered, and opened his eyes again. Daniel’s smile had turned to a full-on beam, and tenderly he stroked over Justin’s blushing cheeks.

“I’m sorry that I can’t keep my promise,” Justin said. “But if you want we could at least do that thing with my lips around your dick?”

“Please don’t.”

Justin froze, and Daniel laughed softly at his shocked expression.

“Morning, Loïc.”

“Morning, Daniel. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.”

Justin moved slightly, and threw a look over his shoulder. Loïc’s tousled hair standing up in every direction and one half of his frowning face was about the only thing he could see of him as he was on the very edge of his own bed, hidden behind two other bodies.

“Why do you get a bed just for yourself, and I have to share mine with these two?” Loïc complained, and moved around as much as the cramped space allowed. Gino, who was on his back and occupied most of the mattress, smacked his lips, and snorted loudly before falling back into his monotonous sawing. Marco lay with his back towards Justin, and formed the other end of the Gino-sandwich.

“Actually, you insisted they sleep in your bed,” Daniel explained.

Loïc groaned softly. “Really? God, I will never party with you again. I always end up with a headache and so much regret.”

“You felt really bad because you feared you might have ended Gino’s career,” Daniel explained. “Because apparently Gino was cooling his injured leg with the iced champagne bottles, and you wanted to help him with ice from your bucket. I don’t know how but apparently you tripped over the small table between the couches, and you both tumbled off the small alcove in the bar.”

“Huh…” Loïc said, and Justin moved back to face Daniel. “Yes, I think it’s coming back…”

“I didn’t see it,” Daniel continued while stroking circles in Justin's hair, “but you were very apologetic, and carried him almost the entire way back to the hotel. Honestly, I was starting to be a bit afraid that Odi would pitch a fit the way you were doting on Gino.”

“I almost did, actually,” Marco’s voice suddenly rasped.

Daniel smiled at Justin. “Morning, Odi.”

“Morning, Daniel. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.”

“I was starting to feel a bit angry” Marco confessed, “but then I remembered that you’re not Gino’s type, and there is no reason to be jealous. Also, he really is so cute when he sleeps.”

“He’s been snoring into my ear non-stop,” Loïc deadpanned.

“So cute,” Marco cooed.

Daniel stroked Justin’s cheek again, and gave him a kiss. “We did almost end up with a third in our bed,” he explained. “Thomi was very insulted when he realised that he’s the only one left out.”

“Thomi!” Justin gasped. “Where is he?”

Daniel lightly jerked his head out of the pillow, and looked towards the foot end of their bed. Justin raised his head until he could see the corner of another mattress on the ground, and two pairs of feet poking out behind their bed.

“I asked Luca for a favour,” Daniel explained. “A birthday gift, if you will.”

“Fuck you, Daniel,” Luca’s voice piped up from the floor. “I hope your next decade will be miserable.”

“Thank you.”

“Is anyone actually still asleep in here?” Justin asked.

“You mean other than that oaf next to me?” Luca retorted.

“Gino!” Marco added sharply. “And don’t you dare wake him up!”

Tenderly, Justin grabbed Daniels hand, and they smiled at each other. For a moment, the room was filled with almost peaceful silence, only interrupted by Gino’s snoring.

“Daniel?” Loïc suddenly piped up.

“Yeah?”

“You wouldn’t know what happened to our medals?”

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

this was so sweet. I also loved how at 3:28 (video starts there) Harry says one of his favorite things to do is "sleeping in front of a fire". very cosy indeed :3

and i can't post this video without mentioning the giant happy leap my heart made for him when he dropped the "not that important" comment that day. god, that was such a jawdrop in the best way :') and it was only 2014, way before he ever picked up a single rainbow flag at a show.

+

[liverpoolgolf02]

The Allure of Golf Club Functions in Sydney

Sydney is famous for its natural beauty and a dynamic nightlife and therefore provides many opportunities when it comes to locations for holding events. These, in turn, are successful in attracting many customers who require venues for hosting all sorts of events, and of the lot, golf clubs are exceptionally popular. Whether it is a business meeting, a wedding, charity or social functions, occasions, or any party, Sydney golf clubs offer an environment conducive for any function since they are characterised by luxury and bashful natural surroundings. Let’s delve into even more detail to understand why reception and garden parties have a special popularity in Sydney and why golf club function is right for you. golf club function rooms

Some golf club venues may be very attractive to other persons in other ways and therefore would wish to rent the golf club venue.

Scenic Beauty and Ambiance

The first reason why many individuals may be interested in holding a function in a golf club is because of the natural beauty of the Golf Club. Most of the golf clubs in Sydney are situated on rich greens, fairways, and indeed, gardens giving a scenic view suitable for any occasion. This enlightens the feeling of the viewers and makes them enter into a serene world and have a good experience while at the hotel.

Versatile Event Spaces

There are various event facilities, modern and flexible, which are provided in golf clubs in Sydney to conduct various functions. They range from cosy private dining areas and sophisticated supper clubs, lovely banquet halls, and formal dining rooms, open garden spaces and spectacular tents, perfect for intimate parties and enormous celebrations, respectively. This flexibility may suit events such as weddings, business meetings, galas and other such events.

Exclusive and Private

When selecting a venue, people may get limited to the theme of the event, the crowd that the venue attracts, or the private environment that comes with organising an event at a golf club. Some of the golf clubs provide private areas that guarantee your event runs without much disturbance from other goings-on. This aspect is especially convenient where companies’ meetings, and various important ceremonies and celebrations are held, and privacy is highly valued.

Golf Club functions refer to festivities organised by golfing clubs either at their clubhouse or at particular venues especially set up for events like these. Golf Club Functions are beneficial in several ways because of the following reasons. For instance, Some of the benefits of Golf Club functions include the following.

Comprehensive Event Packages

Most golf clubs in Sydney have elaborate eventing solutions where eventing services such as catering, decorations and eventing, equipment and sounds, and movies and DVD copying services among others may be packaged together as a single package. Such packages make planning a lot easier and the host does not have to worry about a single thing which can be very stressful at times. The fact that employees can be hired in the golf club to help in setting and organising the event also improves feasibility when it comes to holding a function at a golf club.

Exceptional Catering Services

Despite the type of golf club, most of them are admired for their excellent catering services. Many clubs have chefs employed on premise who ensure that what is served is prepared with a lot of finesse in line with the kind of occasion that you want. From an elegant highly served dinner, an analysed dinner, or a cocktail party, the food will not fail to fascinate your guests.

Ample Parking and Accessibility

Another consideration would be easy access and availability of space as well as adequate parking as provided in most golf clubs. Most of the clubs are situated in close proximity to the downtown area or major transport connecting most parts of Sydney hence the guest can easily have access to the clubs part from where they are coming from. There is also enough space for parking their car and hence Willington hotel guests could easily come and leave from the hotel.

Popular Golf Club Functions

Weddings

One of the most preferred wedding venue packages is the golf clubs mainly because of their beautiful scenery and wide range of services offered. Most clubs have resident wedding coordinators who assist clients in organising their wedding right from the actual wedding ceremony up to the reception, and even the event photographers and florists if need be. It’s a grand and beautiful scenery that makes the moment and time so memorable and a perfect place to take beautiful photographs.

Corporate Events

As trade shows, new product introductions, Investors Relations meetings, sales meetings, incentives and educational seminars for employees and clients can benefit from the highly-versatile golf clubs. To clarify, the calm atmosphere of the environment is ideal for concentration and idea generation and as such ideal place for meetings and workshops. For that reason, other than the objectives, many clubs organise activities including team interaction activities such as the golf tournament, which may help to build very strong Working relationships.

Social Celebrations 

Golf clubs can also be used in social occasions such as birthday parties, weddings and reunions and other ceremonies. With all the variation in possibilities for events, and the ability to be catered to in every possible way, every event is special and individual. Several qualities of a golf club include the ability to accommodate any social occasion, formal or informal, in a relaxed yet distinguished manner.

Charity Events and Fundraisers

It is noteworthy that the territory of golf clubs and the buildings that accommodate them are quite vast and very representative, which is why they are perfect for various charity events and raising money. They may have even experienced large events and most of them are capable of handling the accompaniments that go along with some types of fundraising such as silent auctions, raffles and gala dinners. Such features make Place subtle and friendly allowing donors and supporters to spend their time as they contribute to its work.

Golf clubs in Sydney are ideal for being hired as venues for various occasions owing to numerous features. These facilities offer beautiful landscapes, flexible environment for events, and detailed support making them ideal in terms of class, sophistication and accommodation for the event. Golf club functions are ideal for weddings, business related celebrations, social parties, and charity events as well because they will create the ultimate impression to the party goers. The great care in maintenance, dedicated personnel, location, and golf courses all ensure that Sydney’s golf clubs are perfect in organising remarkable occasion

For more info visit here:- wedding reception venues western sydney

[bisognamorire]

My most Beloved A.,

thank you for getting back to me. I hope you don‘t mind me leaving you this last message here, because I wish I had had the opportunity to say goodbye too. 

I am not sure you will ever see this, because you might not even look up my blog. But I didn’t know how I could put it out any other way, for it to reach you, even if only in 5, 10 or 15 years.

The devastation I feel cannot be put into words. I started writing this sitting in the bus to head to my nightshift, so it may lack eloquence. But how does one say a final goodbye to someone so important in a good manner anyway? You can never prepare for grief to hit you. For the loss of someone.

I thank you for being blunt to me about it — I wouldn’t have understood it otherwise due to autism or such, you know how I am. So definitely don’t worry about being blunt about what you want in life, I encourage you to keep this up! 

I will respect your decision and I do understand it — you’re asking me not to contact you for your and my sake, because I don’t have the strength to let you go, if it wasn‘t imposed on me. Although it pains me and will continue to pain me for the rest of my life as much as it does to you, I will start to let you go. I find that grief over losing people you once loved never subsides, we take it to our graves, for it is indeed the continuation of love.

Before we never speak to each other again, I want to say that I deeply regret to have hurt you — such a lovely, the loveliest human being — during our relationship due to my own problems and life‘s circumstances. I am so sorry that I suffocated you with my insatiable need to be close, that I crushed you under the weight of my grip. 

And I don‘t want to leave it unexpressed that you have my forgiveness for everything that has happened and that I will never feel indifferent to you or resent you because of anything. So please do not hurt yourself with bad coping mechanisms and alcohol.

Thank you for walking a path of my life side by side with me, I‘ll never forget you.

I will always feel fond of you and love you and think of you in everyday life, for your memory is everywhere — never doubt that.

I‘ll even love the versions of you that I will not get the privilege of witnessing, to be part of, because I know you, I know you to your core. 

I genuinely wish you all the best, and that you‘ll live a fulfilling and happy life — how *you* want it to be, not your family, your parents, or anyone else.

This is your life to live and ‚sit with’, not anyone else‘s, so you shouldn‘t live it according to anyone but your own wishes.

If you can ever, in the future, bear to send me a postcard or visit when you‘re around, or feel lost in life and need a friend, I will be there for you. I will always be there for you.

Despite all my love, I understand you‘re asking me to let you go for both our sake.

I wish it hadn‘t come to this, but I don‘t want to continue to be a pain for you.

When I think of you, I will always only want to remember the feeling and perfectness of us sitting on that cosy couch, in a tiny cafe somewhere in Fr. Of you so blissfully sunbathing next to the museum, sitting outside a cafe. Riding our bikes around the fields side by side.

My balcony.

To be loved and love someone, despite. 

To grant you your wish, I now bid you the fondest of farewells and I send you a very tight hug and a final goodbye kiss, my mouselet.

Forever your Sabo who loves you.

[jeggsistence]

Making of Scans and Ian

First time huh, kinda traumatic

I might as well talk about my latest story, Scans and Ian and how hard it is to write a story

Subscribed

To summarize, Scans and Ian is about some dude living on his own in a cave during a dystopian future. Instead of being about an "odd-one-out" character that fate chose to save the world in an epic 240 chapter novel, it's about some anti-social dude that lives in a cave; fixed his phone himself and now has to go through a futuristic city to scan it for verification.

It's meant to be a subversion where the main character is not the hero or villain of a story; but some ordinary guy that doesn't care for the fact that his world is essentially teetering to a fall and just wants to mind his own business. Unfortunately, the plot doesn't allow that and he suffers through constant setbacks with people that, for some reason, see more in him than there actually is there.

Sounds like a nice concept, might even be funny, and both of those assumptions are indeed true!

~~BUT IT WAS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE TO WRITE~~

This was my first time writing, and, it's not like I couldn't figure out the plot. Thinking of how it would generally go was the easiest part. The beginning, middle and end were roughly in my head. The issue stemmed with actually filling the gaps with detail. 

The development of this nauseating narrative started at around September of 2022, and (technically) ended last month. I say technically because I first uploaded it on Wattpad in January, then here because I wasn't getting enough views, and then updated it like right now to be a bit more organized. 

What was so difficult about this narrative? It was my first published piece so maybe that had something to do with it? 

Well, not really. I've been writing since I was like 8, I just kept that to myself and whatever. If we're talking expansive stories, I technically have a whole anthology of stories memorized in my head since I was 12 that I never bothered writing until now. I'd say I'm adequately experienced enough to know the basics of writing a story.

Was it because of school life? I mean, I am just a teen.

No, in fact I wrote the most in school than anywhere else. Besides that, I don't really take school as a priority since (pardon my VERY humble brag) I was always a decent student without really needing to work that hard for it.

Nah, the biggest reason was a disease that has engulfed many writers, both young and old. That disease is: ~~WRITER'S BLOCK~~

We all know what that is. It's a horrible condition that comes out nowhere and only gets cured by the stupidest solutions known to humanity. For example, an important plot point, THAT YOU KNOW HOW IT WILL GO DOWN, cannot be written for weeks, even months or years. Stories are like boats, it will completely sink to the bottom if you find a tiny hole in the plot, and you'll be stuck figuring out, editing, reworking, rewriting a piece only to realize that either nobody else will notice the plothole, or the solution was a 2 minute job of thinking in bed.

On the other hand, motivation will come by simply because you redesigned the kitchen in which a 6 line banter may have taken place, which wasn't even important to the overall plot. You can never tell when writer's block will hit you, and why it's hitting you at your breakthrough moment to make a piece of art.

My problem was what I wrote the story on before. A computer, which is odd to say, in retrospect, since it's the easiest medium to write with.

My issue with computers is that I get distracted way too easily, and the computer's ability to multi-task takes the best of me. I'd be expecting to get a chapter done by the day, but then I'll distract myself with videos I rarely watch, music I barely listen to, and games I never play. It's the worst enemy to my low attention span.

What was my solution?

Writing on my phone. It's less distracting, and you could even lie in bed all cosy while tapping at the screen to make your next thriller. What took me months to write one chapter, suddenly boiled down to a week as I quickly finished the first draft, edited it on computer and then posted to Wattpad.

I'd say with my first piece published, it's a lot easier to get into the work loop. I have so many ideas on my list and I hope y'all stick around as I realize each idea!

[danbisroom]

Ep. 2 - Wolves and stormy seas

Hello everyone,

welcome if you’re new and welcome back if you’re not! This is another episode of Danbi’s Room, your weekly dose of safe space. Grab a cup of something warm to drink and get yourself cosy.

First of all, I hope you’re all doing well! Have you spent a nice week?

When answering this question, always remember that resting is important, too and that we can’t always give our 100%. And also that sometimes we get lost, be it physically or mentally. To focus again and get back on track we need to stop, to pause. That’s actually a very good thing to do and it is much more common and frequent than you would tend to suppose. If you try to think carefully about your everyday life you will notice we’re constantly reevaluating and adjusting. Of course that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make plans at all or that commitment doesn’t matter: it’s just a way to underline that the improvisation and the score are equally important when dancing on this music that we call life. And this process is just another window on our multiple beautiful facets and on our constant state of change. We’re always changing. Now, we can either be victims of the inexorable transformations and variations or we can own them, welcome them and love them. I’d choose the second option, wouldn’t you? Yeah, I know, it is difficult. It’s quite scary most of time, especially in the beginning of the acceptance of this ever-flowing river into our existence. And trust me, the very second you believe the biggest waterfall has just passed there’s already another tortuous chasm awaiting you. With this I don’t mean to scare you, I really don’t. I’m talking about it because we don’t have to do it all alone by ourselves! We need to flow together and rest on each other’s shoulders together. We need to enjoy this stormy powerful sea together. Right?

I have to admit that even these thoughts…you know I didn’t do it all by myself. And that’s okay and totally normal. We are a result of everything and everyone that has crossed our path. You see? It’s all of us again, working together, living together. Breathing the same air and looking at the same sky. We must always remember to see through the eyes of love, to not let our hearts lock themselves in cages. You see, oftentimes pur past haunts us, and unluckily we can’t do much about it. Again, not alone. I know, frequently we feel like we can’t trust what’s around us and we also feel we can’t trust our ability to fly away if the branch on which we’re sitting breakes. Nevertheless, we can learn. Slowly but surely.

This is why I’ll tell you a story.

Once there was a little girl. She felt lonely and misunderstood by everybody. One day she meets a beautiful wolf. They become close, the little girl feels so relieved and understood and happy. But that wolf soon shows who he really is: a wounded energy-sucker who uses his open lesions of insecurity to project his pain onto others. He manipulates. He had built a cage around himself and he tries to build one around everybody else. The little girl suffers a lot for years, but then she finally manages to break completely free, with the help of her loved ones. She’s changed, she’s better, but now she’s afraid of wolves. It’s indeed a shame to feel so wary of these wonderful, majestic animals who populate the sumptuous mountains of her homeland. But what can she do? She waits. She goes on. One day she meets another wolf. She keeps her distance, even though he seems completely different from from the first one she had met before. He seems loving, warm. Honest. True. She still doesn’t give him much thought. Until one day, after many sleepless nights, he appears before her eyes. She suddenly feels warm and loved, she feels everything is okay and will be okay. She feels true love, as deep as the ocean, as vast as the universe. She feels the well known loyalty of the wolves. She feels a cosy big hug protecting her. She’s happy.

What does this mean? That a rotten apple can’t have the power of making you dislike apples.

It means that the world is still beautiful, that life is worth it, that love exists, despite all the ugly things. After all, they’re part of the game, too. Everything must be balanced, and nothing good comes without effort. But I can’t stress this enough, share. Share joy and share sorrow. We’re a tribe, we’re a pack. We’re love.

I’ll leave you with this thought. Let me know your opinion!

Have a beautiful week, big hug!

With love, yours,

Danbi

[owl-with-a-pen]

Merry Christmas/Hanukkah!! <3

prompt of brainy and nia spending the holidays at Nias parents house???

Happy Holidays! I whipped this one up in record time so forgive any mistakes. Hope you enjoy! x

Mornings had once been quite the monotonous feat to Brainy. A simple routine of waking, preparing for the day ahead and executing those plans exactly as intended. Some time before then, the morning hadn’t even been a time of day at all. It had existed outside of his perception, neither here nor there, as he had worked through the rise and fall of sunlight locked within his lab, or the artificial rays that had run in conjunction with the Legion ship’s automated Earth-clock.

That had changed in recent years. Now, Brainy had learned to indulge in all the gifts the morning had to offer. The most important of which he could find just by rolling onto his side, glimpsing one Nia Nal curled into her pillow just inches away from him. Sunlight held a far more pleasant aspect when it glowed atop her head as she slept soundly half buried beneath their comforter, not quite ready to face the world just yet.

When Brainy had awoken that morning, they weren’t in the familiarity of the bedroom they shared in National City. Instead, they were some miles away, spending the holiday period at Nia’s family home in Parthas. This was not the first time that Brainy had slept in Nia’s old bedroom, but sharing a space with his partner that was filled with so many memories, so much love, was a comfort he found he was never quite prepared for.

When Nia stirred at his side, a soft groan parting her lips, Brainy shuffled in close, burying his nose into her hair. “Good morning,” he murmured, his mouth lingering at her throat.

Nia smiled, lifting her head to meet him. “Morning to you, too,” she said, her voice still a little croaky. She rolled over so that she was facing him, snuggling into her favoured spot tucked away against his shoulder. Brainy grinned, relishing in the feel of her warm breath tickling his collar bone.

“How’d you sleep?” Nia asked into his pyjama shirt. She poked his chest, lifting her chin to fix him with a half serious look. “Did you sleep?”

Brainy had expected the question. Since his brush with death at the hands of Leviathan, Nia had taken to checking in with him every now and then on his sleeping patterns. He knew she felt regret at how soundly she could sleep on nights that a vision didn’t intrude on her dreams, but he had assured her time and time again that he was only glad she could find that peace so often now. Since she’d begun to master her ability, the chances of nightmares had tapered off to a handful every few months.

Brainy’s sleeping pattern, however, remained unruly at the best of times - old anxieties that he still struggled with from the removal of his inhibitors. It was true that he required less sleep than most species, but even he knew that he had made something of a habit of pushing at those limits to an unhealthy degree.

Today, though, he could be honest with her. “I did,” he admitted. “In fact, I slept for far longer than anticipated.”

Nia’s smile was infectious. She nuzzled into his throat, her lashes brushing against his skin. “The perks of sleeping in a Dreamer’s bed.”

“This room is indeed very cosy,” Brainy agreed. The natural light that bled in through the windows gave everything it touched a warm orange glow, reflecting against old nick knacks and stuffed animals, cherished items of Nia’s childhood that had been cared for with utmost love in her absence.

Brainy wound an arm around Nia’s back, drawing her in close. “I would have slept for longer I suspect, but I wanted to wake before your father.” He frowned thoughtfully. “He is quite the early bird normally, but factoring in the eggnog that was consumed last night—”

Nia chuckled. “Oh yeah, you’ve got an extra two hours, easy.”

Brainy smiled triumphantly, kissing Nia once on the cheek before sitting up. “In that case, I would like to propose that I make breakfast this morning!”

Nia sat up hastily at Brainy’s declaration. She took his arm, trailing down until her hand was wound firmly to his wrist. “Alright, so I’d like to propose we do that together.” She smiled at him honestly. “Dad’s – uh – had a taste of your cooking before, so he knows what to expect, but Maeve’s coming over this morning.”

“Ah,” Brainy said seriously, leaning in towards her. “Is her palate not as well-refined as your father’s?”

Nia snorted suddenly, covering her mouth in a blatant attempt to hide it. “You could say that.” She rolled her eyes, pecking him quickly on the lips. “It’s alright, we’ll figure it out together. Just, let me brush my teeth first.”

She whipped off the blanket in one swoop, bounding off the bed with revitalised energy. Just as she was about to skip out of the door, she paused, turning towards Brainy with a grin. “Oh, and Merry Christmas!”

Brainy grinned even brighter. “Merry Christmas,” he returned.

---

This wasn’t the first Christmas Nia had spent without her mom, but it was the first time she’d been back to Parthas for the holidays. It had been something Nia had both been looking forward to and totally melting down over in equal measure.

Brainy had kept her strong throughout the worst of her backpedalling, holding her firm when she’d tried to talk herself out of going this year, reminding her of all the stuff she’d expressed over and over again about how much she’d been looking forward to.

For starters, Parthas never did anything half-assed. Their holiday celebrations were some of the biggest and brightest, a community event that brought everyone together to celebrate with music, food and good company at the town square. Nia had never believed that holiday spirit could be superficial, not when she saw it so animatedly in the eyes of a town that shared so many unique cultures and holidays, both from Earth and off-world.

That part, Nia wasn’t dreading so much. She was even looking forward to visiting her mom’s grave again, laying out some flowers for her in all the colours she knew she loved. Ever since she’d paid the ultimate price to see her again, the connection with her mother didn’t feel so far out of reach. When she talked out loud to herself, she could almost imagine her mother listening in; there were even times when she’d catch the impression of someone familiar standing with her in the dreamscape, encouraging every step of her progress.

So, no, those things weren’t what was freaking her out so much. As she helped Brainy cook up a breakfast spread for her family, though, she knew exactly what it really was.

This was the first Christmas she’d be spending with Maeve since their mother had passed. Since the fight that had separated them. Since… everything that had come to light in between.

It was also the first time Maeve would be meeting Brainy in person, which felt so weird. Brainy was such a large part of her life and, up until recently, so was Maeve. Nia knew that her sister was trying in earnest to build her trust again, but it wasn’t going to be easy and whether Nia admitted to it or not, she could feel that strain whenever they were together.

She wanted things to go well when Maeve turned up, but at the same time she was painfully aware of how different it would feel for her to be here with them for the holidays. It wasn’t just Nia that Maeve had disappointed, and although she’d finally gone to visit their dad shortly after their team-up in the dream realm, things were still a little rocky on all fronts.

Again, Nia couldn’t have been more relieved for Brainy’s endless patience throughout her meltdowns. She was honestly surprised this hadn’t triggered any unwarranted anxieties of his own, but it seemed his adamance to support her had overridden any signs of that.

When the doorbell rang at the Nal household, Nia nearly dropped her spatula. She was just plating up the last of the pancakes, and Brainy had been digging in a drawer for cutlery, but they both paused to look up, catching each other’s eye.

Nia held her breath, holding her chin high. It was now or never, she supposed.

“Coming!” she called out.

---

“Nia, hi! How have you been?”

Maeve’s high-energy smile was dazzlingly hard to figure out, especially when she swept Nia into a hug that lingered a little awkwardly for everyone involved.

Nia was the first to draw away, trying to relax her jaw as she offered a smile of her own. “Hey, Maeve. I’ve been good—really good, actually.”

“I can see that.” Maeve winked at her conspiratorially, squeezing her hands. Nia wasn’t sure what she was talking about at first, that was until she felt Brainy join her at her side.

Maeve’s eyes darted to Brainy eagerly. “So, you’re the brainiac that Nia won’t shut up about.”

Nia felt a blush warm her cheeks.

Brainy smirked, bumping Nia’s shoulder. “I suppose I am exactly that.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Nia said easily, kissing his cheek.

“Aww, you guys are so cute,” Maeve gushed, but Nia could already see the game she was playing. She still hadn’t let go of her hands, after all.

Just as she expected, the second Maeve spotted the ring, she gasped. “Is that—?”

Nia bit the inside of her cheek to hide her smile. She and Brainy had been engaged for a couple of months now. They’d already announced it to their friends and family, in fact, the last time she and Brainy had been back to Parthas had been in the summer when they’d surprised her dad with their engagement. She still remembered the tears of joy in her dad’s eyes when he’d hugged her tight, shaking Brainy’s hand before pulling him into a hug of his own, formally welcoming him to the family he’d long-since been a part of.

Maeve had been a no-show at the engagement party Kara and Alex had put together for them, work obligations had predictably tied her down. Nia honestly hadn’t minded all that much. As much as she wanted to build a relationship with her sister again, she knew it was never going to feel the same as before.

Maeve squealed in delight as she turned over Nia’s hand, inspecting the ring from every angle. “Oh my god,” she said, scrutinising each detail. She paused suddenly, her eyes snapping to Brainy. “What, no rock?”

Brainy quirked a brow. “That ring is far superior to any Earth diamond, I can assure you.”

Nia grinned proudly, splaying out her fingers for Maeve to see. “It’s made of Nth metal,” she explained. “It gives you the ability to fly.”

Maeve visibly recoiled, although she collected herself quickly. She looked at Nia accusingly. “You just made that up!”

Nia’s grin broadened. “Nuh-uh,” she said. “And hey, maybe if you’re on your best behaviour, I’ll even show you how it works later.”

Maeve’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, you cannot dangle that over me!” But her tone was made in good jest, enough that even Brainy smiled along.

The rest of the morning went better than Nia had ever expected. Maeve relaxed to Brainy’s unaltered appearance almost immediately and seemed genuinely curious about his culture and species as a whole. She brightened tenfold when she realised that he was fluent in Naltorian and the three of them spent a good thirty minutes dipping in between languages as they grew to understand each other a little better.

Late to rise, when their dad finally came down the stairs, he was greeted with the sound of shared laughter and the smell of palatable pancakes drenched an inch to their life in maple syrup.

They ate together in the living room, sharing stories old and new, catching each other up with their lives and for the first time in forever, feeling like a family that wasn’t hollow at its core. Nia caught herself glancing up at the photo of her mom that their dad had displayed on the mantel, her smiling face watching down on them in the same way she’d imagined in her dreams.

She would’ve been happy to see them all like this, Nia knew. And maybe, someday soon, she might even catch a glimpse of her in the dream realm again, and maybe she’d be able to hear that from her lips for real.

They spent the majority of the morning lounging lazily in each other’s company, Nia curled into Brainy’s side as they shared their engagement story once more for Maeve’s benefit. It was the first time in a long time that Nia saw real elation in Maeve’s eyes. No resentment, no jealousy, she seemed to be truly happy for them. She didn’t even tense up when their superhero lives were mentioned. If anything, there was a sense of pride that had begun to radiate from her now, for the sister who had spared her a second chance, who she was determined to prove herself to with every waking breath.

A few drinks were shared before they headed off for the town’s festivities. Nia found herself walking hand-in-hand with Brainy, her free arm hooked through her sister’s, their dad walking amiably at their side, and she suddenly wondered why she’d ever been so scared of this day at all.

For today and – she hoped - for every day after, they were a family again.

That was the best gift she could have ever asked for.